History of Forest Ecology 411 



practising nations established forest experiment stations, viz: 

 Italy, Austria (1875), France (1882), Switzerland (1888), Japan 

 (1887), Hungary (1898), Sweden (1902), Finland (1902), Russia, 

 Belgium, and the United States of America (1909). In 1892, the 

 International Association of Forest Experiment Stations was organ- 

 ized. This included, in 1903, the experiment stations of Germany, 

 Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Russia, Sweden and Belgium, also 

 various administrations or institutions in Spain, United States, 

 Italy and England. This association has held meetings, in 1893, 

 1896, 1900, and 1910. 



The administration of these forest experiment stations is a 

 matter worthy of attention. Very soon after their establishment 

 the question was debated whether they should be placed under 

 bureaucratic supervision or under academic guidance. Without 

 going into the details of this controversy, it is interesting to see 

 how the matter worked itself out. Practically in every state or 

 country, except Austria and the United States, which have organi- 

 zations for forestry investigations and also haxe schools or acad- 

 emies for instruction in forestry, the forest experiment stations 

 are connected with the academic organization and not with the 

 bureaucratic forest service of the state or nation. The advantages 

 of this organization are obvious. The first and most indispensable 

 asset which forestry investigators can possess is independence, and 

 freedom from bureaucratic influence above everything else. The 

 supervision of forest experiment stations by office men who are 

 chiefly administrators and often lack entirely the scientist's point 

 of view is a great mistake. Ftirthermore, these men often have 

 the additional power to throttle appropriations and to limit the 

 work and influence of the station in other ways. To take these 

 stations out of the influence of men who have little s>Tnpathy for 

 their work and place them under the direction of the large forest 

 schools is a step which has proven to be the right course to take. 

 The station in this case is under direct supervision of the director 

 of the forest school, who in turn is more or less guided by the Chief 

 of Forest Investigations of the state or government bureau. For 

 example, in Prussia which has one of the largest investigative 

 organizations, the central forest experiment station (as distinguished 

 from the many sub-stations in the woods) is connected with the 

 Forest Academy at Eberswalde, whose director is at the same time 

 the head of the experiment station. It cornprises six departments : 



